Planning boards or indicators



July 5, 1966 A. R. JAcKsoN PLANNING BOARDS OR INDICATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 Figi 15;

med sept. 21, 1964 July 5, 1966 A. R. JACKSON PLANNING BOARDS OR INDICATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 21, 1964 E97 'fz Rex jackson United States Patent O 3,259,102 PLANNING BOARDS R INDICATORS Arthur Rex Jackson, Pinner, England, assignor of one-half to Planolnatic Limited, Watford, England Filed Sept. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 397,807

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Sept. 20, 1963,

37,129/63 5 Claims. (Cl. 116-133) which the segments or divisions 4it is desired to display can be observed. The case units may for example be of the kind disclosed by prior British Patents Nos. 733,148, 927,208 and 957,539.

Although applicable to the apparatus forming the subject lof Patents Nos. 733,148 and 927,208 the invention is particularly applicable to the construction forming the subject of Patent 957,539 in which the case units comprise a casing containing a single disc, the casings being so formed that any required number could be assembled together side by side upon a supporting rail or other supporting member.

The general conception behind the prior inventions was that most of the applications for such business controls as Factory Loadings, Scheduling, Progress Controls, Sales, Stocks and so forth, basically derived from barcharts drawn on squared paper, were linear, i.e., a subject occupied a horizontal line of accumulated data. Experience and research, however, have shown that most applications arrange the data aligned vertically to a common set of headings, e.g., time scales, departments, processes, operations, product analysis and so forth and that the data is not in fact continuous in respect to each horizontal line. For example, an analysis of a schedule of contract deliveries Iby products, assuming horizontal lines for the products and a series of vertically ruled columns for the datal headings, would show an entry of figures only in the datal columns when deliveries were required to be made. In the example of a machine loading application a series of horizontal lines bearing machine titles are `followed by a series of vertical columns showing figures of loadings per week. In brief, the majority of applications called for a columnar arrangement and also that it would be highly convenient if the columns containing the data could be individually removable and slidable so that new columns of data could be introduced and expired, or unwanted columns of data be eliminated. Further the Width of the column carrying the data, in the mechanical form of figures on revolving discs, should be capable of contraction or expansion because some analysis would call for only, say, three digits whilst others might require five, six or more digits.

The chief object therefore is to evolve a carrier for the interchangeable units which will enable the units to be arranged in columnar form in a clear manner and which will permit of lateral expansion or contraction to suit particular requirements.

A carrier in accordance with the present invention comprises a supporting member having means for its attachment in a vertical position to horizontal rails or other supporting members or a vertical supporting surface,

in a readily detachable manner and having means for detachably carrying a number of case units in vertical columnar form.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a planning board or indicator in accordance with the invention, one indicator unit being shown in position thereon;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are sections on the lines A-B and C-D in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is afragmentary section showing how the indicator unit carriers .are detachable from the board;

FIGURE 5 is ,a perspective of the preferred form of indicator unit employed in carrying out the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of a modiiied construction; and

FIGURE 7 is a similar view illustrating a further modifcation.

In the constructions illustrated the planning board or indicator includes .a base board or its equivalent 1 fitted With brackets or their equivalents 2 to enable it -to be hung on a wall or other vertical supporting surface,

the board being tted with at least two horizontally disposed channel shaped rails 3 on which are hung a number of carriers 4 which in turn support the indicator case units 5.

Preferably, each carrier 4 is of right angle cross' sectional shape providing two flanges, one flange being formed with hook like projections 6 on its rear face for engaging the rails 3 associated with the board 1 or panel, the front face of that flange being formed with a series of vertically spaced T-shaped projections 7 for engagement by the case units 5. The second flange 8 which lies at right angles to the rails or vertical supporting surface lies adjacent the ends of the case units and provides a visual vertical line of demarcation for the columns.

The carriers may be right and left handed as in FIG- URES 1 to 3, where it is required to support a number of comparatively long case units, one above the other, each including a plurality of disc-like members or for example more than two laterally positioned case units of the kind forming the subject of British Patent No. 957,5 39 and as shown in FIGURE 5. Where it is desired to support for example only two such units side by side, two left hand or right hand carriers may be used as in FIG- URE 6, each carrier thus supporting pairs of case units arranged side by side and one above the other in columnar form.

When right and left hand carriers are used they may be connected together by horizontal spacing rods 9, as in FIGURE 7, the ends of which enter borings 10 in the carrier for example in the hook shaped project-ions, the rods being locked in position by securing screws 11.

It will be appreciated therefore that the carriers may either abut one another as in FIGURE 6 or may be spaced apartan amount suiiicient to accommodate a case unit or a predetermined number of case units arranged side by side, each carrier or pair of carriers together with the case unit being removable as and when required.

Preferably the hook shaped parts 6 are of the double hook formation shown whereby the carriers may be reversed to occupy the position shown in FIGURE 1 or FIGURE 6.

Furthermore, the T-shaped projections 7 are prefera-bly tapered as at 12 to provide a lead and allow the case units to be slid endwise into position thereon.

The carriers may be conveniently moulded from a suitable thermo-hardening or thermoaplastic synthetic resin composition.

Furthermore it will be appreciated that the carriers can be easily slid horizontally along their supporting rails without detachment, any gap so made in the continuity of the columns being closable if necessary by the introduction of another carrier or carriers.

Preferably the board 1 includes a spring loaded rail 13 extending over the full width thereof which projects forwardly to abut against the upper edges 14 of the carriers to maintain the-m in position against accidental dislodgment, the spring loaded rail being depressible to clear the carrier or carriers which it is required to remove, the manner in which the carriers are removed being shown in FIGURE 4.

Some of the projections on the carriers may serve to support index slips or the like designating the subject matter of the horizontal lines of the headings of the columns.

The preferred known type of case unit is shown in FIGURE 5. The unit includes a moulded rectangular case 15 formed with a downwardly projecting hook 16 on its rear face which as shown clearly in FIGURE 2 engages the upwardly projecting limb of a T-shaped projection 7 on the carrier, and with a resilient arm 17 terminating in an upwardly projecting hook 18 which engages the downwardly depending limb of a second T-shaped projection 7 lying immediately above.

By depressing the arm 17 hook 18 can be disengaged from the downwardly projecting part of the T-shiaped projection 7 thus enabling the hook 16 to be disengaged from the upwardly projecting part of the lower T- shaped projection and the unit withdrawn in a forward direction. If provided with laterally projecting pegs 19 which enter recesses in an adjacent unit it will be necessary to move the unit laterally to disengage the pegs before the unit can be removed.

Each unit casing 15 contains a circular disc 50, see FIGURE 2, which is divided peripherally by notches 21 into a plurality of segments or divisions 22 which are contrastingly coloured and/ or marked with numerals, letters or other markings, each disc having means for locating it in any one of a plurality of predetermined angular positions corresponding in number to the number of segments or divisions, the casing having a frontal aperture 23 through which the segment or division to be displayed can be observed.

The notches 21 enable the disc to be rotated by inserting the end of a stylus in an appropriately positioned notch to rotate the d-isc until a segment having the required marking lies opposite the aperture 23.

Arranged above and/or below the aperture are undercut projections 24 on which can be mounted paper or other index strips held in position by transparent cover strips, the edges of which embrace the projections.

I claim:

1. A planning board comprising a base board having at least two parallel support rails extending in a lateral direction along said base board, at least one carrier member slidably mounted on said support rails for movement in a lateral direction with respect to said base board, said carrier member having `at least one column of projections depending outwardly therefrom, said column extending in a longitudinal direction with respect to said base board, and a plurality of indicia carrying units mounted between adjacent projections in each of said columns.

2. A planning board as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a spring loaded depressible rail which abuts against the ends of the carrier members to maintain them in position upon the support rails but when depressed permits the carrier members to be unhooked from the rails and removed with their associated indicia carrying units.

3. A planning board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of spacer rods connecting adjacent pairs of carrier members, the ends of each of said rods extending into bores provided in its respective carrier member, and means to secure said carrier member ends in its respective bore.

4. A planning board as claimed in claim 1 wherein each carrier member is of a right angular cross-sectional shape having two flanges, one of said flanges being provided with hook-like members on its rear face for engaging said rails, said projections being substantially T- shaped and depending from the other face of said ange, the second of said flanges extending adjacent the ends of said case units and providing a vertical line of demarcation for said columns.

A5. A planning board as claimed in cla-im 4 wherein each of said indicia carrying units includes at least one resilient locking arm depending therefrom, the free end of said arm having a projecting hook adapted to engage a corresponding projection on a carrier member upon an indicia carrying unit being inserted between adjacent projections.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,514,688 11/1924 Dance 40-140 1,766,362 6/1930 Sears 40-140 1,970,822 8/1934 Sommers 40-140 2,313,723 3/ 1943 Adler 40--140 2,313,724 3/ 1943 Adler 40-140 2,497,445 2/ 1950 Gaul 40-64 2,5 85,420 2/ 1952 Ailes 40-5 2,608,012 8/1952 Jackson 40-140 2,629,951 3/ 1953 Kittridge 40-5 2,722,070 ll/ 1955 Thompson 40-63 2,752,880 7/1956 Jackson 116-133 2,787,068 4/ 1957 Anspach 40-64 2,879,614 3/ 1959 Baldenza 40-140 3,142,124 7/ 1964 Ownbey 40-140 3,159,937 12/ 1964 Barnes 40-5 3,162,174 12/ 1964 Whyte 40-65 3,173,220 3/ 1965 Luchenrneier 40-140 FOREIGN PATENTS 927,208 5/ 1963 Great Britain.

LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PLANNING BOARD COMPRISING A BASE BOARD HAVING AT LEAST TWO PARALLEL SUPPORTS RAILS EXTENDING IN A LATERAL DIRECTION ALONG SAID BASE BOARD, AT LEAST ONE CARRIER MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT RAILS FOR MOVEMENT IN A LATERAL DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE BOARD, SAID CARRIER MEMBER HAVING AT LEAST ONE COLUMN OF PROJECTIONS DEPENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID COLUMN EXTENDING IN A LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE BOARD, AND A PLURALITY OF INDICIA CARRYING UNITS MOUNTED BETWEEN ADJACENT PROJECTIONS IN EACH OF SAID COLUMNS. 